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DISTRICT ATTORNEY MKELVAYS PAINSTAKING INSTRUCTIONS TO DEPUTY SHERIFFS DOING DUTY AT SARATOGA TRACK Saratoga N Y August C That District Attor ¬ ney Lawrence B McKelvay of Saratoga County has a thorough grasp of the laws in regard to gambling and bookmaking was demonstrated by the clear and concise Instructions he gave the deputy sheriffs who were called before him en the opening day of the present Saratoga meeting Many of these men had been appointed by Sheriff Crippen solely for this race meeting and were not thoroughly conversant with the laws under which the racing is being held here hereThe The district attorney spoke as follows followsYou You men are brought up here and will be sent to the track to enforce the laws of this state you are not being sent up there to take the countys money for doing nothing you are not sent out to see how little you can see or do the least you can do but you will be sent up there to perform an honest useful and decent purpose and that is to MM to it that the law isnt violated as I define those violations to you You will go up there and do that duty honestly liccauso if you go up there and lake the countys money and simply go up there intending to do nothing or wink at violations of the law you are guilty of just as much of a crime as if you stole MI many dollars a day That Is the first proposition I dont want to be offensive to you I know you all but it is my duty to say that thatIn In the second place you will perform those du ¬ ties regardless of any local prejudice on the one hand or any outside influence on the other We can run Ibis county wo are all of us capable of enforc ¬ ing the laws of this state within our county and we must not be prejudiced by anything that the people here think and not be embarasscd by what anybody outside of the county may think Now when you get out to the track the slicr will no doubt have some system of posting you in different places around in the crowd it will be a terribly largo crowd probably and you will take those positions and do what he says You saysYou will keep your eyes open and see what is going on If you see any ordinary violations of the law you will do in that case the same as you would in any other stop it and make au arrest If you iee what you think is In the nature of gamblius anywhere perhaps it will avoid confusion for you to immediately report that to the sheriff who will be there and let him decide what action should be taken unless it Is some very flagrant violation of the law When you got out there on the other hand you must not unduly Interfere with any people you must not trespass on any mans rights rightsThousands Thousands and thousands of people come to this county for pleasure and we want to welcome them null they are entitled to decent respect and fair treatment at our hands as long as they remain within tho law If you should arrest a man or interfere with him when you havent any decent ground for sup osing that he is committing any of the crimes that I have described to yon then you an guilty of a wrong and injustice because men who come here are entitled to their privileges and to justice so long as thev stay within the law and you will not annoy them but work in an orderly manner mannerYou You wont run around in a wild and excited man ¬ ner but avoid noise and confusion Be decent and see what is going on and report It to the sheriff 1 think he joins In my instructions and then let him decide what should be done and after 1 have talked to you I will probably have a talk with him as to some of the details of it itThe The Pinkerton detectives will be on the track in large force 1 assume and they tell me and I have reason to suppose that they honestly intend to help you men in the enforcement of the law They are experienced at it and they may be able to do you great service in doing so I understand their authority is recognized among the people who go to the track as in a measure supreme and if you are not entirely sure about any man just as lo whether he ought to IMJ doing what he does f course the sheriff will confer with Mr Pinkerton and with his representatives and I am sure that If the sheriff then feels that the man is not wanted on the track and wants him removed from the track that they will cooperate with him and do it If anybody starts a crap game or anything of that sort there on the track or near it stop it if anybody opens a poolroom or gambling joint break it up and dont have any hesitancy about it or If any man indulges in any of the things which 1 will describe to you later on or anything like it you see give it to the sheriff at once and bring aim lo the man find out about It and if you get tho evidence bring it to him If you cannot get the evidence for the sheriff take it up with the proper parties or myself and we will see that the man Is put off the track trackThese These people that come to the track are many of them well known especially to the Pinkerton Detce ive Agency and the men that you have reason to complain of will probably be men that they know I know that It is so at the Belmont track the men who have been complained of are men whose names are known in the racing world as I understand it itNow Now gentlemen it may take me a minute or two it is my duty to read to you the statutes which the governor mentions to me and which are to be found In the Constitution and Penal Code It is provided by article 1 section 0 of the State Constitution In part as follows Nor shall any lottery or the sale of lottery tickets pool selling liookmakihg or any other kind of gambling hereafter be authorized or allowed within this state and the legislature shall pass appropriate laws to prevent offenses against any of tho provisions of this section sectionThe The law which was passed in 1010 and altout which you hear so much is section 9SC of the Penal Code Any person who engages in poolselling or book making with or without any writing at any time or place or any person who keeps or occupies any room shed tenement tent booth or building float or vessel or any part thereof or who occupies any place or stand of any kind upon any public or private grounds within this state with books iaers apparatus or paraphernalia for the pur ¬ pose of recording or registering bets or wagers or of celling pools or makes book with or without writing upon tho result of any trial or contest of skill speed power of endurance of man or beast or upon the result of any political nomination ap ¬ pointment or election or upon the result of any lot chance casualty unknown or contingent event what so ever or any person who receives registers re ¬ cords or forwards or purports or pretends to re ¬ ceive register record or forward in any manner whatsoever any money thing or consideration of value bet or wagered or offered for the purpose of being bet or wagered by or for any other person or sells pools upon any such result or any person who being the owner lessee or occupant of any room shed tenement tent booth or building float or vessel or part thereof Or of any grounds within this state knowingly permits the same to be used or occupied for any of these purposes or therein keeps exhibits or em ¬ ploys any device or apparatus for the purpose of recording or registering such bets or wazers or the selling of such bets or wagers or the selling of such pools or becomes the custodian or depository for gain hire or reward of any money proiwrty or thing of value staked wagered or pledged upon any such result or any person who aids wsists or abets In any manner ia any of the said acts which are hereby forbidden Is guilty of a misdemenor and upon conviction is punishable by imprisonment in a penitentiary or county jail for a period of not more than one year Sec 091 Illegal wagers bets and stakes All wagers bets or stakes made to depend upon any race or upon any gambling by lot or chance or upon any lot chance casualty or unknown or contingent event whatever shall be unlawful Sec 992 Contracts on account of money or property wagered bet or staked are void All contracts for or on account of any money or prop ¬ erty or thing in action wagered bet or staked is provided in the preceding section shall be void Sec 007 Ofiicers directed to prosecute of ¬ fenses It Is the duty of all sheriffs constables police officers and prosecuting or district attorneys to inform against and prosecute all persons whom they have reason to believe offenders against my provisions of this article and an omission to do so is punishable by a line not exceeding 500 500Now Now gentlemen these are the statutes that ire jailed lo your attention They may or may not be plain but all those statutes have been considered by the courts and 1 am going to assume the ie sK nsibility of telling you what tbev mean and I will try to tell it In simple language and tell it as I understand the courts have told it itAn An ordinary private bet between individuals Is not a crime within this state except in one case anil and that is whero a bet Is mado on a prizefight That exception of course wont trouble you here So that I say to you that the law of the state is that an ordinary private bet made between two In ¬ dividuals whether with or without any writing or memorandum is not a crime as I understand the law Several of such bets I assume even if made by the same parties would not be a crime but any man who engages in the business of bookmaking as that term will be later defined to you is guilty of a crime crimeA A bookmaker has boon said to be of that class of men who make a business of betting with the public soliciting bets quoting odds and things of that character That you can see is distinguished from the man who makes an honest private bet A prf vate bet Is illegal and unlawful but it isnt a crime crimeNow Now it is hard for me it is hard for any man It has been very hard for tho courts to tell just what bookmaking is so I am going to read to you the language of two or three of the later decisions feeling that that is the best I can do doNow Now the last case on this subject that I can find and I have spent weeks in trying to get myself familiar with this law is one tried before the county judge of Nassau County one Judge Nlemann I think his name was There the judge had up liofore him a number of men the evidence against whom had been secured by the Burns Detective Agency and the judge uses this language which 1 will quote to you because it is the latest decision on the subject and the only thing that you and I can do Is to enforce these laws as the courts construe them Ordinary betting even if repeated from day lo day is not bookmaking The statutes and the decisions have made a clear distinction between the person who transacts business as a professional gamester based iijion a scheme and plan known as bookmaking and the man who makes a bet or se ¬ ries of bets in the ordinary way People ex rel Llchtensteln vs Langan supra In this case the scheme and vice of bookmaking Is pointed out Tho words with or without writ Ing inserted in the Penal Law by Chapter 4SS of the laws of 1910 did not in any way change tho fundamental requirement of the statute that to constitute the offense there must bo iKiokmuking as it has always been understood It may now be oral bookmaking if that term may bo employed that Is hookmaklng without writing but the evidence must show that the ac ¬ cused belongs to tho class of common gamblers professional gamesters whose operations are con ¬ ducted upon the scheme known as bookmaking Bookmaking is distinct from the mere making or recording of bets betsNow Now gentlemen you will see how hard it is for me to give you a clear and concise distinction between these two acts While the Legislature passes a law the courts take it up and consider It and then I must give you the result of the decisions as I read them themWhat What I am trying to advise yon now is that the ordinary private l et is not a crime while book making as it is described in these decisions is a crime Now I dont mean by that that you should let a thousand men run wildly on that track making disorder and confusion which might coino from their acts because that might bo disorderly conduct of some kind and it may Ivo the racing association has no right to permit that if they have any knowl ¬ edge of it itSo So if you see such a tremendous lot of men betting openly and notoriously so that tho directors of tho association must know about it then report those circumstances to the sheriff and lot him gather such information as he can for such use as ho might want to inako of it itNow Now gentlemen I have tried to do my duty in this and tell you honestly what tho law is it may ho that some people wont like that construction of it and I am the fellow that will be criticized for it but I am big enough to handle it You just follow out your work on the lines I have told you follow It out on that track Dont let any man com ¬ mit any violations of the law lawOn On the other baud be decent and dignified to those people because some of them aro decent people and treat them tho same as if you wont away for amusement so long as thov keep away from violating the law that is what we want 1C any man violates the law he must be punished for it he must bo punished regardless of what anylwdy else says about it itYou You men will be vigilant and keep your eyes open do your duty honestly If any of you men make tho mistake of putting down a bet on the race track and I hear about it I will prosecute him and have him removed because such a thing would lx a disgrace to this county and if any man known to be a violator of the law expects favors of you and gets confidential about his business and I hear of it I will prosecute you and I will have the sheriff take whatever measures are proper There properThere is just one thing more Your jurisdiction extends not only to the race track but ail over this county My understanding is that you have been designated for special work on the track but you deputy sheriffs have jurisdiction all over the county If you hear of any gambling or any joints that are open any brace games crap games get the evi ¬ dence and report it to the sheriff and to me Go out there gentlemen and do your duty and do It as I have defined it to you and if I am wrong I ini the fellow that will have to stand that but I have defined the law as I understand It ItIn In view of the fact that private betting is car ¬ ried on by a great numlier of people whether it is a crime or not may tend to disorder and confusion and if you can see any private betting which Is open and which Is visible to you then you will report that to tho sheriff and he will report the situation to me and I will take such steps as are proper
